Friday, April 30, 2010

ah, the rain

The dry season has started earlier than normal and dust has blanketed the house for a couple weeks now. Going for walks means breathing in plumes of dust left from cars flying past us. Except today. It is raining! As I am from the pacific nw originally, rain never fails to bring a smile to my face. Especially, when it has been so dry lately. Now, if only we would have water IN the house!

I wanted to give a brief update as some of you who are following along with me have been asking what can be done to help. First, because a friend of mine gave a generous donation to the orphanage I was able to talk with the director this week about hiring 4 new mamas! So, we are hoping that, when the other mamas aren't sick there will be always at least 4 mamas at a time during the day, and 3 at night! Also, we were able to help him buy mattresses, sheets, clothes, and blankets. As well as a bunch of formula!!

Tomorrow I am heading up there again; it will be a slippery drive with recent rain. I am doing a small seminar on nutrition and stimulation (on the request of the orphanage staff). I want to keep it simple tomorrow as right now they are really doing the best they can with what they have. I figure, once the other mamas start, we can do a more in depth discussion about nutrition needs and developmental play and stimulation.

I am working on a fundraising letter with the information on immediate and ongoing needs and long term goals based off some recent discussions with the director. If anyone is interested in this information or want to do some fundraising of their own, let me know at hmulford@gmail.com. Any money raised will be sent through OFA, which along with helping families adopt, has the primary focus of helping orphans in Congo.

Otherwise, I am reminded again today that so many of the kids there are doing well. Despite the odds, there are so many faces I can bring to my mind that are full of hope and joy, from the littlest ones to the biggest ones. The staff there really care about the kids and are doing the best they can and more!

And I also remember the little ones whose faces and spirits spur me on to not feel overwhelmed or discouraged, but to try to do what I can to come along side the staff at Kaziba and improve their situation, so that those little ones know they are loved and precious, too.

New Here?

We are an American family living in Mwanza, Tanzania after 2 years of life in the States. Michael is a country director for an NGO which serves school children. Holly is a pediatric nurse practitioner. Before our time in the States, we lived in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo for 4 1/2 years. We have four little girls who are 7, 5, and four year old twins. Back in DRC, we started a small charity called Reeds of Hope. Originally we started it to support the small baby home where our girls spent the first 5 months of their lives. Since that time, we have grown and changed in our mission and focus. Now we are working hard to transition to a model of family support, reunification, and alternative care.

Please do not use any photos on this blog without permission. All photos are ones taken by the author of this blog and not for use elsewhere without permission. Thank you.

Header photo on far left is used with permission from Channel Initiative and is from eastern DRC. Photo on right is from Mwanza, Tanzania.